Thursday, October 25, 2012

SAINT FRANCIS OF ASSISI, ANIMALS & APPLE PIE

St. Francis of Assisi is a beloved and well-known saint throughout the world and is the patron saint of animals and ecology. He was born in either 1181 or 1182 in Assisi, Italy. He founded the Franciscan Order of Friar Minors, lived the gospels in obedience to the Church, traveled in peace to the Middle East during the crusades, created the first Nativity scene, saw God in everyone and everything, received the Stigmata of Christ Crucified, inspired countless people in his lifetime, and continues to inspire us today.

He's honored in the Roman Catholic, Anglican, Episcopal, and Lutheran Churches. St. Francis is one of two patron saints of Italy (along with Catherine of Siena) and many other places throughout the world, including San Francisco, CA, in the United States.He died on October 3, 1226, and his feast day, October 4, is usually celebrated with a Blessing of the Animals.There a many significant episodes in the Life of St. Francis of Assisi:See Young St. Francis of Assisi for his first steps toward Jesus Christ. For his next few steps and his inspiration in the life St. Clare of Assisi, see St. Clare of Assisi.

Why then, is he known
mostly as the patron saint of animals and ecology and why is his feast day
usually celebrated with a Blessing of the Animals?

Over the centuries, hagiographers
(biographers of saints) have written much about St. Francis: from The
Little Flowers of Saint Francis by Fr. Ugolino Brunforte completed in 1328
to Francis of Assisi: A New Biography by
Augustine Thompson, O.P., published in 2012 – from beloved legends to
cross-referenced, historical-document proved facts. But stronger than all the words written
about St. Francis are the words he wrote himself:

Canticle
of the Sun

Most high, all powerful, all
good Lord!
All praise is yours, all glory, all honor, and all blessing.

To you, alone, Most High, do
they belong.
No mortal lips are worthy to pronounce your name.

Be praised, my Lord, through
all your creatures,
especially through my lord Brother Sun,
who brings the day; and you give light through him.
And he is beautiful and radiant in all his splendor!
Of you, Most High, he bears the likeness.

Be praised, my Lord, through
Sister Moon and the stars;
in the heavens you have made them bright, precious and beautiful.

Be praised, my Lord, through
Brothers Wind and Air,
and clouds and storms, and all the weather,
through which you give your creatures sustenance.

Be praised, my Lord, through
Sister Water;
she is very useful, and humble, and precious, and pure.

Be praised, my Lord, through
Brother Fire,
through whom you brighten the night.
He is beautiful and cheerful, and powerful and strong.

Be praised, my Lord, through
our sister Mother Earth,
who feeds us and rules us,
and produces various fruits with colored flowers and herbs.

Be praised, my Lord, through
those who forgive for love of you;
through those who endure sickness and trial.

Happy those who endure in
peace,
for by you, Most High, they will be crowned.

Be praised, my Lord, through
our Sister Bodily Death,
from whose embrace no living person can escape.
Woe to those who die in mortal sin!
Happy those she finds doing your most holy will.
The second death can do no harm to them.

Praise and bless my Lord, and
give thanks,
and serve him with great humility.

St. Francis wrote “Canticle of the Sun” as a hymn and
sang it with his brothers often before he died. Also know as “Praise of the
Creatures,” it is believed to be one of the first works of literature written
in the Italian language.

He names all life forms directly “creatures.” Human
beings fit into this category. And like all other life forms, we praise God
through our very existence, as God is within us and within all life.

St. Francis takes it a step further, by naming that
which is inanimate starting with Brother Sun. Francis delights in the
similarities between the sun and the Son, radiant light and all. God is everywhere, in what He created like
the moon and the stars, or in human actions such as forgiving someone, or
enduring sickness and trial.

This ability to see God in everyone and everything is remembered
through St. Francis’s love of animals. On several occasions, he wept so passionately at the sight of a lamb being brought to slaughter, that alms
were quickly collected in order to purchase the lamb and allow it a full
life.

Many other stories grew out of the love Francis had
for all animals, some true, some legendary, and some that are based on truth
but exaggerated into legend:

One day while traveling near Bevagna in the Spolento
Valley, Francis approached a large flock of birds by the side of the road. He
greeted them, “May the Lord give you peace.”

They didn’t fly away. So he
preached to them about the glory of God. He told the birds to sing the praises
of God, too. As he raised his hand to bless them with the sign of the cross,
they flew off with a great flutter and loud bird song.

This simple story was later exaggerated into the
“Sermon of the Birds,” which first appeared in The Little Flowers of St. Francis.

Whether Francis loved birds so much because of their
appearance in the Gospel, or if his biographers made their own connections to
Francis’s love of birds and Jesus’ use of birds in his teachings doesn’t really
matter. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus refers to birds as an example of
appropriate living and trust in God for all needs:

Therefore I tell you, do not worry about
your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Look
at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and
yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?
Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? Matthew 6:25-27 (New International Version)

Francis lived his life following the Way and words of
Jesus Christ – do not store food for tomorrow, trust that the Lord will
provide.

By living
day-to-day, Francis depended his labors to earn his food or on the hospitality of others.

If invited to a meal, Francis ate whatever was served
to him with great appreciation and humbleness. One could wonder how he could eat
meat when he loved animals so much and experienced such pain at the thought of
their slaughter. Mostly, it was due to his gracious acceptance of a gift.
Through his host or alms giver, God provided food to Francis, and he would
never refuse such a blessed gift.

What would I serve St. Francis of Assisi if he showed up at my house? Definitely
something that I love to eat and reminds me of home:

Cheerie’s Apple Pie

Cheerie is my mother. She made 50 pies at a time in
our family’s bakery. Apple is my father’s favorite. A is for apple and Albert.

Use local grown or organic apples. Since writing my
last post St. Jude and Applesauce, I’ve discovered that the use of pesticides and nitrogen
fertilizer makes commercial apples big, juicy and sweet. But compared
to organic apples, commercial apples are lacking in nutrients, and natural
antibacterial and antioxidants. (See sources.)

Plus, commercial apples tend to be too juicy for
pie. If you do use commercial apples,
prepare the filling then put it in the refrigerator for a couple of hours or
over night so that the extra juices can leach out of the apple slices. You can
then drain away the juice before placing the filling in the pie plate.

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About Me

Along with generations of Maria Virginia's before me, I'm named after the Blessed Virgin Mary, and my birthday is the day before the Feast Day of St. Francis of Assisi. My study of the Saints has led to an awareness of angelic guidance and an every-day closer relationship with God. I'm a mostly retired stay-at-home mom, seeker, writer, and volunteer youth minister and blessed baker at Church of the Servant Episcopal Church in Wilmington, NC.